Sole-leveling machine.



J. H. RIGBY. SOLE LBVELING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION' Hman AUG'. 17, me.

Patented June '22, 1909.

3 SHEETS-@HEBT 1.

Z/messe J. H. RIGBY. SOLE LEVELING MACHINE.' AlfPLIoA-TION ULEB AUG. 17.1908.

925,509. Patent-,ea June 22, `1909.

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

,zz i -E 3 I I r d 720 I I UNTED STATES JOHN H. RIGBY, OF LYNN,MASSACHUSETTS,

Parana? onnicn.

ASSIGNORTO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW JERSEY, ACORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SOLE-LEVELING MACHINE.

I Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented :rune 22, 190e.

Application filed August 1'7, 1908. Serial No. 448,836.

l useful Im rovements in Sole-Leveling Machinos; an l do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as Will enable others skilled iii the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to sole leveling machines and more articularly tothat class of sole leveling mac ines which comprise a sole leveling tooland a shoe supporting jack, relatively movable to change both therelative. vertical and longitudinal positions of the leveling tool andack. In this class of leveling machines the desired amount of pressureon the sole of the shoe is secured by means of a s ring, the tension ofwhich may be initia y varied to suit the class of work being operatedon, but which is maintained at a substantially constant tension for allshoes of the same class. rlhe inward limit of vertical movement of therelatively movable parts is determined b a stop which may be adjusted tovary sucfiv limit, as may be required by a change in the class of shoebeing operated on. As `these machines have been constructed heretofore,a change in the position of the stop to vary the inward limit ofmovement of the relatively movable parts also varies the amount ofpressure a plied to the shoe. This is undesirable as t e initial settingof the pressure mechanism regulates its amount so that the best resultswill be obv tained from the pressure thus determined,

and any variation in the amount of pressure will, therefore,'result inpoorer work. In the earlier machines this defect4 could be overcome by aseparate readjustment of the ressure mechanism when the stopWasjadjusted, but fre uently the operator failed to make suchreadjustment.

The principal object ofthis invention is to provide means for insuring aretention of the amount of pressure for which the pressure mechanismis-initially set, nomattei' what the adjustment of the means 'forvarying the inwar limit of vertical movement of the relatively movablearts'inay be, thus avoidof the pressure mechanism.

`Another object of the invention is to pro- 55 vide a stop and apressure mechanism for the purposes described, which may be adjustedeither simultaneously or independently at the will of the operator.

l/Vith these objects in view, actuating me ans 6 O have been rovidedbetween the means for i adjusting t 1e stop and the means for adjustingthe pressure mechanism by virtue of which an adjustment of one of thesedevices necessitates a simultaneous and proportionate adjustment of theother to suit the new conditions. The actuating means is detachablyconnected to the adjusting means for the pressure mechanism and detachedwhen therefrom the amount of pressure to be a 70 plied to the shoe maybe varied independent y of any adjustment of the stop.

The invention is intended primarily for use in turned shoe work and has,therefore, been illustrated -as applied to a machine rovided l `with alongitudinally movable jac and a vertically movable leveling roll,suoli, for instance, as the sole leveling machine disclosed in thecoending application of -Andrew Eppler ile May 8, 1906, Serial No.315,024,

although it should be understood that, except as defined in the claims,the invention is l not limited thereto but may be employed in other soleleveling machines provided with adjustable pressure lmeans and means forvarying the initial relative vertical position of the workand tool. l

In addition to the features of the invention already referred to, theinvention consists in certain devices, combinations and'arrange- 90ments of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages ofwhich will be 0bviou-s to those skilled in the art. y

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying. drawings l Y Figure' l is a side elevation of .themachine, Fig. 2 is a plan ofthe parts shown in the up- I per portion ofFig. 1, Fig. 3 is aside elevation of the parts comprising the presentimprovement, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail on the line 4 4.- of Fig.2.

ln the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, aleveling roll Ris supported on the forward end of the frame F j pivotedat l to the frameA of' the machine. ing the necessity o a separatereadjustment j The roll carryingframe .F is counterbalanced "l by aspring F suitably connected to the` frame of the machine and the rearend of the frame F. The shoe to he operated on is supported upon anyconvenient forni of jack indicated. by J, which. jack is sustained in ajack carrying frame J pivoted at 2 on the machine frame in a manner toprovide a relative longitudinal movement between the shoe and theleveling roll. The. iaclr frame is oscillated about the pivot 2 by meansof a reversible friction driving mechanism, indi cated at D, which,through suitable connections, oscillates a cra-.ilr C carried by shaft 3and connected to the jack frame hy means oi a linlr Ll. The reversiblefriction driving 1.5 mechanism. is operated through belting B en agingsuitahly arranged pulleys and driven ilroin the driving shaft-3joiii1ialed in the lower portion of the machine trame. This mechanismis controlled hy means of a handle H, Suit-ably arranged helting i3 fromthe driving shaft S imparts a continuous rotation to the leveling roll..i'iutomatic mechanism for preventing ovcrthixw ol. the iaelr frame incase the operator does not move the handle ll at the proper time isindicated at O.

All of the parts just described may he and preferably are substantiallythe saine similar' parts fully illustrated and described in theco-pending application -of Andrew Eppler, hereinbcfore referred to.

The mechanism for providing the desired pressure 1hetween` the levelingroll and the shoe and for imiintainiiigr the roll in. contact wi th theshoe during` the leveling operation is substantially similar to themechanism used for this purpose in the co-pending application of AndrewEppler, hereinhefore referred to, but it is essentially difl'erent insome respects 4G as will hereinafter appear. The roll carryingr frame l"is connected to a treadle "il pivoted at 5 in the lower part of theframe of the machine by means of a. yielding linlr connection.

This connection comprises ahousing d. con-4 neeted at its lower end tothe treadle hy' means of a link 7, and closed at its upper end exceptfor an openingy through which extends a rod 8 the upper end of whichpasses through an opening in the frame F. A hand wheel 9 is keyed to theupper end of this rod by means voi which it may be rotated. A coilspring i() surroundsthe rod 8 within the housing, the closed upper endof the housing forming,r the upper end bearing for this spring and ablock rl1, assed through dian'ictrically opposed vertically arrangedslots it?, in the housing and threaded on the lower end of the rod,

*forming the lower end bearing for the spring. l

The spring l() is normally under tension, Whichftension is determined byan adjustment ofthe block 11 by means oi the hand wheel 9, and thetrcadle thereby held in contact with thc under side of a stop '.l" atthe front of the .machine trame (scdottcd lines in Figs. l and 2),Thostop 'll' serves to senseo limit the upward movement of the treedlebut permits a free downward movement thereof.

in performing the leveling operation, as the jack is oscillated back andforth beneath the rotating roll, the pressure on the shoe variessomewhat, Because oi' the fact that the treadle is held from upwardmovement by the stop fl", the tension of the pressure spring isincreased as the roll is raised hy thc hall et the shoe passingI underit hut the spring expands again as the roll is lowered when it passesinto the 'shank of the shoe. if it is desired to place more pressure onthe shoe than afforded by the tension of the pressure spring, as isfrequently necessary at the shank of the shoe, the operator. depressesthe 'treadle during this part of the leveling operation, thus furtherincreasing the tension on the springl 10 and the pressure applied to theshoe. It has been found in performing the levelingr operation, that thevarious classes of work operated on require yvaryingI amounts otpressure from theroll lt and,

"uefore, the tension of the pressure spline is ini tialiy set, hy anadjustment of the blocI i il, to all'ord the required pressure for theparticular class of work in hand.

A. stop is usually provided to limit ilui downward vmovement of theleveling roll when disengaged from the shoe and the pres sure mechanismis adjusted in` accordano. with this position of the roll so that the lequired pressure will he applied whenI the niuchine is set in operation.lt will hc 'obvious to those skilled in the art that when varyingr sizesor styles of vshoes are jacked, their heights, relative to the lowermostprelimi nary position ol the leveling,r roll `as determined hy the stop,will vary and, therefore, this position. of the roll should be varied tosuit cach new location of the work. With the construction of thepressure mechanism heretofore described, a vertical movement of the rollcarrying,r trame F to vary the limit of downward movement of the toolwill alter the tension of the pressure sprinu 1() by changing thedistance between the hloek 11 and the upper closed end of the housingthus changing the amount of pressurethat will be apalicd to the shoe. Inorder to maintain the same pressure on the shoe as had before been used,notwithstandingr the n variation inthe initial vertical position oftheroll, it wz s necessary, with the form ol' stop heretofore in use, 'toreadjust the pressure mechanism bf restoring the pressure spring to itsinitial tension. lt the o )elator tailed to so readjust the pressuremechanism, and a shoe higher than the shoe previously in the machinewere being operated on, the increased pressure caused by a raising ofthe leveling` rhll to suit the new work might pos sibly be injurious tothe shoe. lf the new shoe were lower than the shoe previously in ilk"the machine, a lowering of the leveling roll without a readjustment ofthe pressure mechanism would decrease the pressure and the sheemight notreceive enough pressure to properly level it. This serious defect isovercome in thepresent invention by providing means Afor insuring aretention' of the initial adjustment of the pressure mechanism, no

matter for what'limit of vdownward movement of the leveling roll may beset. The roll carrying frame F is provided with a lug 13 at one sidethrough which is passed a stem 14, having a hand wheel 15 ke ed to itabove 'the frame, and provided wit an enlarged and tapped end 16 belowthe frame. This arrangement permits rotation of the stem 14 but preventsa lengthwise movement thereof. The shank of a stop 17 is threaded intothe tapped endl. The stop 17 is provided with a depending portion 18whichfits into a longitudinal'slot 19v in the upper surface of a bracket20 secured to the frame of the machine. This arrangement permitslengthwise movement of the stop device but events its rotation. Thus thesto i 17 may e adjusted toward or from the bracket 2Q by a rotation ofthe handjvheel 15. A pinion 21 is keyed to the'stemn14 above the frame Fand lthis inion meshes with an idler pinioi 22 rotata ly mounted in theframe. Th idler pinion in turn meshes with a pinion 23 having a collarjournaled in the frame F and loosely surrounding the rod 8. Sufficientspace between the rod and collar of the inf ion is provided to permitplay between t iese arts as theframe is moved vertically about itspivot. The pinion 23 is secured in liXed relation to the hand wheel 9 bymeans of a removable pin 24 passed through a hole in the and into one ofa series of holes hand Whee 25 in the upper face of the pinion. A latch26 is fulcrumed on the frame F in a position -to engage between theteeth of the idler pinion22 thus locking all of said pinions againstrotation and maintaining them in any@ adjusted position. With thisconstruction a rotation of the hand wheel 15 to adjust 'the length ofthe stop device and thus varyfthe limitof downward movement of theleveling roll -will also, when the latch 26 is removed fromj lockingposition and the in 24 is resting'in one of thefholes 25 of t e inion23, caus'efa rotation of the rod 8. Ifptheflimit of `downward movementof the leveling roll is elevated, thus lengthening the yielding linkconiiection, the rod 8 will be rotated in a direction to cause it to besimultaneously unscrewed from the block 11.

lf the limit of downward movement of the roll is lowered, thusshortening the yieldinglnk connection, the rod 8 will be' rotated in adirection to causeit to be simultaneously passed through the block 11.The pitch of the threads on the stop 17 and the. rod 8 is the same and,

therefore', for every increment of movementI of the frame F there is acorresponding incre` ment of movement of the rod 8, in one direction orthe other, through the block 11. With this arrangement of adjustingmechanisms the block 11 is always maintained at a Mconstant distancefrom the upper closed end of the housing 6 throughout al variations inthe initial position of the leveling tool. This insures a constanttension on the spring 10 no matter what vertical position the frame Fmay preliminarily assume. Those skilled in the art will readily see'thatif the pressure mechanism is initially set for a .particular class ofwork, its initial adjustment will be retained no matter in what verticalposition the leveling roll may be placed in order to properly operate uon varying heights of shoes of any particu ar class. The actuatingdevices connecting the stop device and pressure mechanism constitute,therefve, automatically acting means for nullifying the effect onthe'pressure mechanism caused by anl adjustment of the stop.

By removing the connectin `pin 241, between the hand wheel 9 and tepinion 28, the pressure mechanism may be adjusted independently of theadjustment of/ the This feature of the invention is `of pressurerequired for the particular class of work to be operated on.

.In the following claims, all references to position or direction ofmovement of the elements are to be interpreted as terms of designationand not of limitation, as' obviously it is the relative position orrelative direction of movement which is alone of im iortance.

ilVhile the 'particulars yof construction vherein set forth are wellsuited to one form of the invention, it is not to be understood thatthese particulars are essential since they may be variously modiiiedwithin the skill of the artisan without departing from the true scopeofthe actual inventionas de'- i'ined by the following claims. -What isclaimed as new is 1. A sole leveling machine, combination, a shoesupporting jack and a sole leveling tool relatively movable bothvertically and longitudinally,v ressure mech--` anism for forcing one ofsai( parts toward.

having, in

the other to exert pressure on the sole of the shoe, a stop to determinethe proipei r relative vertical position of said parts w ist theleveling tool is disengaged fromthe s hoe,

means for adiusting said stop to position th` parts properly fordifferent-shoes, and means acting simultaneously toadju'st the pressuremechanism to cause it to exert substantially the sameA pressure on thedif ferent shoes. l

2. A sole leveling machine, having, in combination, a shoe supportingjack and a sole leveling tool relatively movable both vertically 'andlongitudinally, an ladjustable stop todeterminc the inner limit ofvertical movement of said parts when the tool is disengaged from theshoe to accommodate g shoes of different heights, a yielding link,connected at one end to one of said parts and held at its other end frommovement toward said part, to force said part toward the other duringthe leveling operation, and

a single means to adjust the stop and simultaneously to adjust the linkto secure substantially the same pressure on the. shoe Whatever itsheight may be.

3. A sole leveling machine, having, in combination, a sole leveling tooland a shoe supporting jack relatively movable longitudmally, a framecarrying the leveling tool movable toward and from the sole of thelshoe, a stop for said frame to limit the downward movement of the-toolwhen disengaged from the shoe, an extensible link connected at one endto said frame and held at itsj other end from upward movement, a springin said link, means for tensioning said spring to exert pressure on the.sole of the shoe during thc leveling` operation, means for adjusting thesto i to position the tool properly for shoes of different heights, andmeans controlled by said sto) adjusting means for insuring asubstantialfy constant tension on said spring prior to the levelingoperation for all heights of shoes.

4. A sole leveling machine, having, in combination, a. sole. levelingtool, a shoe supporting jack movable longitudinally beneath the tool, aframe carrying the tool movable toward and from the soleA ofthe shoe, astop for the tool carrying frame to determine the l position ot' thetool with relation to the sole of the shoe when disengaged therefrom, atreadle, a yielding link connection between the treadle and the toolcarrying frame for forcing the tool against the sole ot' the shoe, meansfor adjusting the stop to position the tcol properly for differentshoes, and means acting simultanemislyv to adjustthe link connectiontosecuresubstantiallythe same pressure on the different shoes.

5. A. solel leveling machine, having, in come" bination, a shoesupporting jack and a sole leveling tool relatively movable bothvertically and longittulilmlly, means preliminar-ily to determine the.inner limit of vertical movement of said parts when the tool isdisengaged from the shoe, )ressure mechanism for forcing one of saidment is varied, and automatically,acting parts toward the: other duringthe leveling operation con-5 structcd and arranged so that thc amount ofpressure to l i applied to thc shoe will bey f, varied as the innerlimit of verti'fal movei l means for nulliiying the effect on thepressure mechanism caused by an adjustment of the stop, i

6. A sole leveling machine, having, in combination, a sole leveling toolanda shoe su porting jack relatively movable longitu inally, anadjustable stop device prelimmarily to determine the proper verticalposition of j the tool relative to the shoe sole before it engages thesole, mechanism for applying pressure to the tool during theleve'lingOperation constructed and arranged to have its strength varied by avariation in the vertical position of the tool, and means oonsuremechanism caused by an adjustment of the stop.

7. A sole leveling machine, having, in combination, a sole levelingtool, a shoe sup orting jack movable longitudinally beneat the tool, aframe carrying the tool movable ton ward and troni the sole of the shoe,an adjustable and yielding link connected at one end to said frame andheld at its other end from upward movement, to force the tool toward theshoe during the leveling operation, a stop also connected to said frameto determine the position of the tool relative to the sole of the shoewhen disengaged therefrom, means for adjusting said stop to position thetool properly for diHerent shoes, and operative connections between saidstop and link whereby an adjustment of the stop effects a simultaneousadjustment of the link lo exert substantially the same pressure on thedilferent shoes.

S, A sole leveling machine, having, in combination, a shoe. supportingjack and a sole leveling tool relatively movable both vertically andlongitiulinally, pressure mechanism for forcing one of said parts towardthe other to exert pressure on the sole of the shoe, an adjustable stoppreliminarily to determine the inner limitof vertical movement of saidparts before engagement of the tool and shoe to accommodate shoes ofdifferent heights, means for simultaneously adjusting said stop andpressure mechanism to position the parts for shoes 0f different iheights and to secure substantially the same pressure on the shoewhatever its height may 'be, and means permitting an independentadjustment of said stop and pressure mechanism.

`ln testimony whereof ,l allix my signature, in presence of twowitnesses,`

yJOHN' ll. ltlGlSY.

it nesscs: n.

Fnmmuiok l. lCnMANos. .lanas ll. llo'nnnn.

nectmg said stop device and pressure mech.v anism acting to nulhly theefect on the presiV

